Scale Shifter
by NotTheChatYouKnow
Summary: In a life where all dragons have migrated to the Hidden World almost 5 years ago, Hiccup is restless. The ways of a chief with the stress his family is putting him under is too much to deal with. After getting kicked out to the forest, an accident that changes Hiccup's life occurs. Will he be able to go back to his own life, or will he be forced to stay... As a Night Fury forever?
1. 1

[A/N - This Chapter is a little bit of an info-dump, please excuse it. It will be better in the later chapters.]

It was silent.

Too silent.

Hiccup huffed as he pulled himself up the cliff, slowly.

He missed the sound of beating wings, of a plasma blast getting fired, of Toothless's strange and mystical noises.

One step up the rocks.

Hiccup hadn't realized what a mistake it had been to let Toothless go. Sure, he had a beautiful wife and great kids, but they couldn't take you above the clouds.

One hand in front.

With a final heave, Hiccup flopped onto the top of the ledge. He lay on the damp grass for a moment before getting up. He took a deep breath.

The air was too full, too filling. It was weird, but Hiccup missed the thinning air of being up high, as high as you could be. He glanced up, seeing the rest of the cliff above him. The chief had a flashback to when he and Toothless soared up to the top of this very cliff.

He pondered if he could climb any further, before remembering his wife and children were expecting him. Hiccup sighed and looked over the edge. A large pond lay a few meters south of his current position, near the forest floor. Picking up a rock, Hiccup stood up, chucked the rock into the pond and followed its path into the lake.

A few years ago, he would have been worried about rogue water dragons, but after exploring the island for the majority of five years his conclusion had been that they were all at the Hidden World. He sunk under the water, eyes closed, before swimming upwards. It had begun to rain slightly, not that it would bother Hiccup.

Checking the sun's position, He realised it was far later than Hiccup thought it would be, almost completely dark. He walked the slightly familiar path back to the village

Dripping wet, he opened the door with one arm while pushing hair out of his face with the other. It was quiet as he saw the kids eating dinner and Astrid glaring at him.

Hiccup sat down, trying to lighten the mood. "The forest was terrible today, I don't know why I bother going out." He shovelled food into his mouth as he talked. Suddenly, Astrid stood up.

"Kids, go to bed." A flurry of complaints followed the order. "I'm going to send you to Valhalla if you don't get up there right. Now." They walked upstairs, mumbling insults under their breaths. Astrid turned to Hiccup, knife in hand.

"How dare you! I stay home, caring for the kids all day, taking care of all your chief duties, and here you are complaining about the forest! I ought to throw you out, you ungrateful lump!' Hiccup backed away, thought for a few seconds, and spoke. He appeared calm but was fuming. "Astrid, love, you're being unreasonable. It's hard to keep up appearances."

Astrid snapped. She threw the knife a few centimetres left of Hiccup's head, embedding it in the wall. "You are going to sleep in the forest you hate so much, and don't even think of sneaking back in." Hiccup sighed, knowing it would be better in the morning. Snatching his exploring satchel, he slammed the door behind him, searching for a pile of semi-comfortable moss.

When Hiccup woke up, his back was aching. He had settled down close to the pond where he had jumped in yesterday, and he caught a glimpse of his reflection as he got up. Hiccup's hair was messy and knotted, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were dishevelled and crinkled. Hiccup stood at an angle, tired and uncomfortable.

He decided to search for something to bring home, an animal or mineral or whatever looked shiniest. Hiccup was in no rush to return to the village, so he walked around purposeless for a few hours.

It was close to noon when he finally saw a large rabbit. Intending to take it back as a pet or possible food, he crouched, thinking of a plan. Yet before he could even initiate the plan, a large blur leaped down gracefully from the trees, snatched up the rabbit, and ate it in a single bite. Hiccup was immediately grateful for his vantage point behind the rock and pulled out a journal he had in his satchel.

The dragon had lay down on the soft forest floor to absorb the light. It spread its huge wings out, and Hiccup realised: They were leaf shaped. The dragon had a magnificent colouring of white and all shades of grey that Hiccup realised helped it to blend in with the leaf shadows on the floor. Even then, he had to squint to see it properly. It had the exact figure of a night fury, possibly a little bulkier, and was in no way similar to a light fury.

It must have smelled Hiccup's earlier scent, as it snapped it's head up. It turned to face Hiccup's rock, teeth bared. Deciding it was a good idea to get up and show that it wasn't a threat, the chief rose slowly.

The dragon's eyes formed into slits, and it stepped towards him menacingly. "Heey, Calm down boy, it's all right." Hiccup moved a foot behind him, but didn't keep moving. The dragon spread its wings, like a frilled neck lizard trying to intimidate its rival. Hiccup took a step back, and tried to take another but his foot was stuck in a gloppy, sand-like substance, possibly quicksand.

Hiccup sunk down quickly, and soon he was fully submerged. He tried to hold his breath as best he could, but it was no use. "I'm going to drown here, without saying anything to the people I love", thought, with the images of his wife, children, Toothless and a small glimpse of the Light Fury flooding his head.

Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer and blacked out. The last thing he saw was the mysterious dragon pulling him out from the sand. The wet earth seemed to retract, like a magnet meeting another magnet. He closed his eyes and he felt the dragon's mouth around his waist.

Two Days Later

Hiccup could have gone on sleeping, but the agonising pain in his throat woke him. In his groggy state, Hiccup was defenceless. It felt like it had been years. Absentmindedly wondering why and how he was still alive, he stumbled onto two feet, rubbing his head. The world looked...Different.

Before doing anything, Hiccup collapsed, a torturous pain running through his side. A blurry image of the dragon carrying him to a tree flashed through his mind as he stumbled to a downhill area, and was sick on the floor.

Wiping his mouth, Hiccup staggered to the tree he had woken up next to. He lay down on the floor as he checked the bite mark. Whatever had bit him, which he assumed was the dragon, had venomous teeth. The bite surely couldn't have been that infected within this timeframe, right? Hiccup knew he had to find water, both to drink and clean out the disgusting green wound.

Later, Hiccup had finally found water, but little did he know that the dragon from before had discovered he was gone and was now watching him. Using his hands, Hiccup drank the water, slowly re-hydrating. After a few good gulps, he took off his shirt and began to clean the wound. The cool water ran into the wound, which was a knife in his stomach.

Hiccup heard a whoosh sound, and then a voice. "Hey, you! Over there, near the water!" The voice was deep, but smooth and vaguely feminine. Hiccup turned around, to see a beautiful woman walking towards him. She was muscular and looked like she was very fit. Her long, silver hair was in two braids. The silver haired girl wore an unusual outfit, with long, dark blue pants and a black singlet. Her striking eyes were a unique shade of amber, almost gold. Her tanned skin gave away that she spent most of her time in the sun. She looked about 20 years old and had a scowling expression.

Hiccup was trying to remember if he had seen this woman at New Berk, so he didn't speak until she was very close to him. "Stop gawking, little man, the same thing is going to happen to you if I'm right, which I am most if not all of the time." Hiccup wondered what she meant. Another stabbing pain shot through his waist, and he scooped another handful of water onto his midriff. "Stop doing that, it's not going to help." She put her hand over her head in a frustrated way and helped him to his feet rather aggressively.

"Come with me", she said as she dragged Hiccup to a nearby, sunny clearing. Dropping him in the middle, she glowered at him, then sighed. "I really don't know how to feel about this." She explained. "Sorry, I don't understand what 'this' is." Hiccup said, choosing his words carefully. Her next words came as a shock to the chief.

""You are going to shift into a dragon sometime in the next thirty minutes."


	2. 2

Hiccup - 1st person POV.

"Yeah right. Pray, do tell which dragon?" I asked sarcastically, feeling a little braver. She answered my question with another. "Looking at you, I'd say a terrible terror." She smirked, roughly sitting down with her back to a tree. I stayed standing in the middle of the clearing, annoyed.

"Ha, ha. Tell me, when did you lose your sanity?" She rolled her eyes, and then spoke. "I'm telling the truth. Trust me, you don't want me to prove you can." She put her hand over her eyes as she spoke in a frustrated gesture, not stopping for a second. "You're one of the more annoying people I've been put in charge of."

"What high praise." I looked at my hands, still not believing her. "I strive to be as annoying as possible. It helps crazy criminals to let me go faster." My voice rose on the last part, and I hoped she didn't notice.

It was right after that statement that she looked me in the eyes for the first time. "So, you think I'm insane." With deadly accuracy, she loosened her hand and threw a small, red plant at me. It was shaped perfectly circular. I caught it in my hand. "Honestly, what did you think a small plant would do? I survived losing a leg, if you thin-"

The change was instantaneous, and I didn't finish my sentence. One minute I was scolding this woman, and the next I was in a different body. It was a strange sensation, not pleasant but not painful. I felt as if I were too big and I had too many parts. I turned around to see intimidating black wings and a long tail. I tried to speak, but words failed me. All that came out was growling. I looked around for the stupid girl, wondering what voodoo she had done to me, and saw her laying on the ground, laughing.

Hiccup - Third Person POV.

Hiccup tried to say stop laughing, but it came out as a menacing rumble. Her laughter slowed, and she stood up. "You should have seen your face!" she barked, her smooth voice saying the words like a river on a stone. "Haven't had that much fun in a while. That's a scale lily. We use them to speed up the shifting progress for new shifters." Hiccup made an angry, but inquisitive noise. "Right now, you can understand me, right?" she asked, looking at her nails. Hiccup nodded. "Great. And how do you like being a Fury?" she said, barely concealing her laughter.

Hiccup pushed her over with what used to be his hand. He hadn't realised he was a Night Fury, but looking at it now it made sense. "You want a mirror? I got to admit, you look pretty cool." She didn't wait for an answer as she fished a reflective piece of something out of her pocket. As she looked, she spoke. "Now I can confirm you're a shifter, which I knew anyway, I can tell you my name." She put the mirror like object facing towards him. "I'm Calypso. Not Cal. Calypso."

Hiccup admired his new form in the mirror, still wondering if this was a prank. He looked identical to Toothless, apart from Hiccup's full tail and his slightly darker eyes. A sob built in his throat, but he swallowed it. Calypso put the mirror away, but Hiccup was still staring at the place where it had been. "We need a new name for you. Hiccup doesn't exactly scream dragon-like, although if you're fond of it you can keep it as your human name." The former chief hopelessly attempted to contact her, but she couldn't understand

"Listen, I'm going to make this easier for you. Just don't start freaking out, okay?" Hiccup nodded. With a small hand gesture, Calypso performed a weird, graceful move that angled downwards. Hiccup's new sharp eyes (Did the world always move this fast?) couldn't track the moment when she emerged as the grey-silver dragon from before.

"Hiccup freaked out. His eyes turned to slits, and his teeth shot out. What an odd feeling. He stepped forward, remembering the dragon that condemned him to this life of a dragon. She looked a little ashamed but spread her leaf shaped wings in a submissive gesture. Hiccup found with a shock that he could understand her next words

"Hi. It's me." She said as he growled. Anyone watching would have thought that this was fight between a Night fury and another, odd coloured Night fury. "Why did you do this?" Hiccup hissed, his voice a world of hurt. She sighed and sat.

"It was an accident, okay? Sort of, anyway. To a human, my teeth in this form are filled with a venom, of sorts. If it's introduced to the bloodstream, it activates possible dragon heritage and removes all flaws. I was getting you out from my sinkhole when I saw prey. Our tribe is low on that at the moment, and my instincts kicked in and my teeth shot out. I thought you wouldn't have any heritage, and even if you did, that the tribe members were low."

"That's an excuse and a half." Hiccup said, a million questions racing through his head. Only one came to mind. "Your sinkhole?" he said, unsure if she had made a mistake. She rolled her eyes. The communication method wasn't exactly talking, more a series of growls that the other could understand. "That's the question you ask? They're going to teach you this stuff at the base. Follow m-" Hiccup interrupted her.

"WAIT. What makes you think that I want to spend another second near you?" Calypso got up, and bared her teeth. "Scale lilies will keep you in dragon form for as long as the dose was. I gave you a small dose which means you are stuck like this for the next 48 hours. I wouldn't recommend going back to your pathetic house, unless you want to be sent to the Hidden World." She hissed the last sentence, and spread her wings farther out.

"Trust me, It's been terrible for those non-shifters." And with that, she spread her wings and flew into the night sky, leaving Hiccup.


	3. 3

(A/N: Whenever Hiccup is in human form, he's Hiccup. When he's in dragon form, he's Obsidian. Enjoy!)

Hiccup watched as the silver dragon flew into the sky, blending in with the moons and stars. He watched as his only chance of help disappeared. Finally, he glanced down at his claws. Hiccup realised: He had no idea how to do anything.

The Night Fury spread his wings, finding that it was more comfortable. He started to awkwardly walk south, opposite his old village. Maybe I'll get used to it, he thought, feeling as if everything was too heavy.

Soon, Hiccup came to a tall, steep cliff that dropped off into fog. He looked up to see a taller mountain, towering over the flat plain. With a jolt, Hiccup realised that he could probably make it to the top without Toothless. Maybe this dragon thing wasn't that bad. A silent gust of wind came from in front of Hiccup, from the ocean, and he took the time to enjoy it as he lay on the soft grass.

It was late when he finally woke up to a nearby growl. Hiccup involuntarily hissed as he was alerted to the presence of another dragon by a crackling sound. He turned quickly to see a dark blue Monstrous Nightmare silhouetted against the moon, flying towards him. The beast lit itself on fire, creating an eerie glow as it roared. Hiccup just barely dodged a fireball, which seemed to anger the Nightmare. Hiccup's keen eyes noticed it hovered in the air with uneven, jerky motions.

The dragon was riled up, as it had wasted almost all of it's fire shots without hitting Hiccup. One of it's shots came so close that the Night Fury stumbled and fell over, with his wings folding over his body. Hiccup was slowly gaining control over his wings and learning how to maneuver them.

Another Fireball.

Hiccup attempted to communicate with this dragon, but it either couldn't understand him or didn't want to. The dragon had landed, still on fire. It's huge wings set fire to the tree leaves around him. He calculated how many shots the Nightmare had left. One fireball left.

The dragon reared, its mouth heating up. Hiccup was still trying to figure out how to talk to it, he didn't realised its mouth was getting brighter. Attempting to get out of range, Hiccup soon figured out that his tail was caught between two branches.

He growled, with no meaning, and tugged on the branches. The Nightmare got closer as its mouth heated up. The beast was just about to fire its last shot that would surely melt Hiccup, when a lime green ball of plasma flew into its mouth, instantly killing it.

The silver dragon landed on the Nightmare's corpse, checking it was dead. Within seconds, the scowling girl was in front of him.

"What were you thinking! Tangling with a rogue like that could have killed you." She yelled, walking towards him with great strides. Hiccup yelped apologetically. He was still angry at her, but mostly just glad she had saved him.

She sat down on the burned grass with her legs hanging over the edge of the cliff and her hand resting on her forehead. Hiccup lay down next to her, his head almost as big as her lap.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but not harsh either. Finally, she turned to look at him. "I doubt you know how to fly?" Hiccup shook his head. Calypso stood up. "Then I guess we'll go for a hike." Hiccup shook his head, and pointed as well as he could towards the village.

"Oh Ho HO! We are not going anywhere near that domestication freak show!" she yelled, her face close to Hiccups. He growled, but Calypso just shook her head. "If they see a dragon, they'll try and tranquilize it and take it to the monarchy." It was strange how a human could growl out those words like a dragon, but Calypso managed it fine. With one final pleading growl from Hiccup, she softened.

"Maybe later, when you can actually shift, but right now we had to teach you how to fly. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." She quoted nonchalantly, but Hiccup had a vivid flashback to the first time he had heard it: From Gobber. Hiccup yelped, desperately asking her a question, but to no avail.

As Hiccup followed Calypso in a seemingly random direction, he listened to her talk. "What's a dragon name you'd like? Mine is Silhouette. It sound pretentious, but also cool. What do you think of Dusk? No? Alright, what about Sunridge?" Hiccup wasn't focused, he kept looking around at everything in a new light. In the early morning, Hiccups new eyes picked up everything, from the motion of the ants on the tree, to the talons on that hawk, way above them. He vaguely heard the last suggestion from Calypso, and nodded.

"You like Obsidian?" She confirmed, looking at him skeptically. The Night Fury nodded, before running headfirst into a deep, nearby pond. He could see amazingly well even underwater! He could hear Calypso's voice from ten meters under. When he finally surfaced, Obsidian was out of breath. Was swimming always this hard? Calypso saw that he was struggling, and pulled him out of the water. "Furies don't always swim great. I know I don't." She shivered, a solemn note in her voice. "We're also not great with long distances or extreme temperatures, which is why we're only going halfway up this mountain."

Obsidian stopped, and looked at her. Halfway up a mountain? It was dawn, for Odin's sake. Obsidian remembered he hadn't been fit for years. Maybe being a dragon was different. But Calypso cut him off.

"We train incredibly hard, in human and dragon form back at camp. If you think that you're fit now, wait till you get back home. You didn't look in the best shape before you got bitten, so if you think that you're better now you are sorely mistaken." Calypso said this as she walked faster and faster towards the base of the mountain. When she finally arrived, Obsidian was out of breath, even as a dragon.

"Ready to climb?"


	4. 4

Obsidian growled as if to complain. He definitely did not want to climb up a mountain. He felt sick, and his throat was sore, and he hadn't eaten anything in ages so no thanks, nope. Not climbing. But Calypso had other ideas.

Obsidian took her mumbling as a bad sign. She was scanning the forest floor for a few seconds, and then her face lit up. She smiled and almost laughed. Obsidian hadn't really looked at her face in the sunlight before, but he could see it had a few, tiny, iridescent scales under her eyes. Then she looked him in the eye, frowned, and the scales disappeared.

"Alright, It's been about 48 hours, hasn't it?" She asked, moving the leaf litter away on her knees. She picked up a specific red leaf shaped like a heart, crushed it, and walked efficiently to another tree. "I mean, if it hasn't, then we'll find out soon enough, right?" She spoke as she walked. The night fury tried to growl, but she seemed immersed in whatever activity. When Calypso turned around, she held the crushed up leaf mixed with a couple of bark shavings.

Calypso offered it to him impatiently, but Obsidian didn't know how to take it or what to do with it. It seemed like that was his expression, too, so Calypso rolled her eyes and shoved it in his mouth.

It was a surprise to Obsidian, but he swallowed it, hoping it was what she'd asked. Immediately, a burning sensation spread from his tail to his head, and a second later Hiccup was sitting on the grass.

"Ooh! It worked! That's cool." Calypso said, slightly excited but still nonchalant. Hiccup took several quick breaths, then desperately looked at the person who had dragged him into this.

"What the HELL?!" Hiccup yelled, trying to stand up. He was still dazed though, and his legs didn't seem to comprehend the order. "Necessary." She said, half smiling, half looking Hiccup up and down. Hiccup took a deep breath, his eyes wide. He began to violently cough.

"Stop being a drama king." Calypso yawned, and started to stretch in odd positions. She noticed Hiccup looking at her, and growled. "Stop goggling and have a look at yourself." She fished in her small satchel while doing a split-like stretch, and tossed Hiccup the mirror from before.

The former chief almost dropped it, as he still felt quite dazed. When he was sure he wasn't going to be sick, Hiccup steadied the mirror and looked at himself.

This time, he really did drop it with a gasp. He blocked out Calypso looking at him and scrambled to get the mirror. Frustrated, he tossed it aside and ran to a nearby lake. Which was, in fact, a terrible choice, as Hiccup immediately threw up, barely missing the lake. After a few minutes of spewing and wretching, Hiccup splashed some water on his face and stared into the reflective pond.

Hiccup was in his early thirties, but now he looked like he was in his early twenties. As he stared at the reflection, gobsmacked, Hiccup noticed the imperfections on his face were gone. The freckles he'd always hated, the slight crookedness of his nose, the small scar on his chin were simply gone, fixed. Hiccup wasn't a vain person, but he had to admit he looked perfect.

Suddenly, it felt like ice water was running through his veins. Hiccup held in a deep breath, squinted his eyes shut, and swung his legs in front of him. When he opened his eyes, Hiccup laughed. He smiled so wide, it felt as if his mouth was going to split open. Because sitting in front of him were two, identical legs. Hiccup picked out the broken remains of the metal and tossed Them into the lake. He used a tree to stand up, and wondered how he hadn't noticed when he was running.

With a smile on his face, Hiccup strolled back to see Calypso finishing her stretches. When she turned to look at him, she couldn't help smiling at his face. "Not all bad, huh? Anyways, now you're ready for a brisk hike to..Hmm...About halfway up this mountain?"

Hiccups good mood immediately shattered. Sure, he looked younger, and felt younger, but was he really up for a hike? "Are you sure?" He spoke hoarsely, looking up at the tall mound of earth. Calypso nodded, smiled, and within seconds she was a dragon.

Hiccup was momentarily horrified to see that she wasn't coming with him. "Are you messing with me? I've been sick more times in these few days that I have in my entire life. And you're making me climb up a mountain?"

The fury nodded, as if to say "You expect me to come with you?" Hiccup frowned, sighed, and give her one last pleading look. A small part in his brain that wasn't analysing the mountain wondered if he should call Calypso her dragon name, Silhouette. This small part decided yes.

"If I 'shift'," Hiccup said, emphasising the ridiculousness of the word with air quotes, "Will you let me stay down here?" Silhouette made an odd gurgling sound, which Hiccup took as a yes.

After several minutes of squeezing his eyes shut and concentrating, he felt the large paws of Silhouette on his back, pushing him to the ground. Hiccup was about to yell out in outrage, but when he felt her talons around his midriff he knew what was happening.

Delirious, Hiccup went limp as Silhouette got a good grip on him. He felt the hugeness of her leaf-shaped wings spread, and suddenly he was weightless. Hiccup was only half processing the red, orange and green leafs that gently fell on his head as Silhouette lifted him up. Just by inspecting her talons, wings, and the shape of the fury's head Hiccup could tell this was a dragon meant to fly low and fast, skimming the tree tops and blending in with the shadows. This was definetly not a strong dragon, nor a dragon built for high altitudes. No, this was a dragon built to be a powerful, fast flyer. The other half of his brain was furiously enjoying that finally, Hiccup was back in the air. He may have even let go a few Whoops, before Silhouette silenced him with a with a growl.

They spent the next few seconds in silence, before Silhouette tossed him into an impossibly large cavern in the side of the mountain, and collapsed on the floor as Calypso. Hiccup was too amazed to notice her, and to see her give him a glare.

When they had both had their breaths back, Calypso spoke. "You remind me of someone." She said, not looking Hiccup in the eye. Her words flowed out thick and fast, like the stream of tears running down her face. "I thought-" She coughed. "You didn't look like h- him until you..." Hiccup was uncomfortably shocked. "Do... you wanna talk about it?" Calypso shook her head violently, and wiped her face with her sleeve. Her next words seemed as if they were carefully monitored to seem carefree.

"Nope. All I want to do is finally see you try and fly for the first time."


	5. 5

(A/N: This Chapter has a lot of backstory. Feel free to skip it :) )

Hiccup 3rd person P.O.V

"And how do you expect me to do that? What are you going to do, throw another leaf at me? Stuff another piece of bark in my mouth?" Hiccup said, feeling his anger rising. He desperately wanted to fly, but wasn't going to do it by the terms of this strange dragon who had condemned him to this life.

Calypso stood up, shushed him, and without saying a word she offered Hiccup her hand. The Berkian took it, and followed her as she strode to the edge of the cave. "Want to have a look? This is my favourite cave because it's usually always windy. But this side is the worse side, because the drop is lower and there's heaps of trees to crash into." She spoke. Hiccup noticed that Calypso's voice seemed to get stronger.

"So tell me then, why are we trying my first...lesson out with the bad side?" Hiccup asked. Calypso looked at him, hand on her hip. "So you can fly over your village." Hiccup smiled, but Calypso took his hand while looking him directly in the eye. "You cannot go down there at this point of time. You're a young shifter, and you probably have a hard time switching. If you swoop down there you'll be captured immediately. New Berk is almost as dangerous as Old Berk."

Some of Hiccup's anger bubbled up again. "Okay, but what if I do shift back to human? I need to see my wife. I need to see my kids." He pleaded. Calypso narrowed her eyes. "The new chief is doing a speech today, close to nightfall. If we spend the afternoon flying, and getting you practiced, we'll go over there camouflage mode." She sighed, and brushed a silver braid back behind her ear. Hiccup was ecstatic, but also confused. "There's a new chief? Already?"

Calypso nodded. "I think you would know them. You seemed to hang out with them a lot back on Old Berk." Hiccup thought for a moment, but let the thought go. He could ask Calypso, but didn't want to put her under too much pressure. He watched as the shifter turned on her heels, and walked half her normal speed into the mouth of the cave. Hiccup followed.

"So, are we going to the other side?" The former chief asked, right by her side. "Yes. You'd like it so much better. The breeze is huge and the drop is enormous." Was Hiccup imagining it, or was the cave a lot brighter? "Do..Can you see in the dark?" He asked as Calypso shook her head. "No, but you probably can. I have to be honest, I'm following the smell." Hiccup sniffed, but couldn't smell anything other than the dank, damp smell of the tight cave. He blinked a few times. It was odd, the cave looked exactly the same as it did in daylight, as if there was no roof. But apparently Calypso could only see the darkness.

Hiccup sighed, preparing for an uncomfortable conversation as they walked. "You keep mentioning Berk. You even said one of Gobber's catchphrases before. Tell me about it, if you want." The former chief caught a glance of Calypso quickly looking at him, before she turned back and adapted to walking on the path that sloped upwards.

"I was born in Berk, and raised on a diet of killing dragons, taught by a young Gobber. My parents were great, and I remembered I was a kid when you were born. Stoick and Valka were so happy. And then she got taken, and Stoick upped the number of dragons we killed. My friends were worried about the dragons, but I wasn't. Until I was about fifteen, and had to kill the last dragon we had captive. He- He was a shifter. A Light Fury. About a year older than me. I remember watching him kill my friend the day before I had to fight him. When I watched him murder her, I was torn. Should I avenge my friend, or should this beautiful, glittering dragon be set free?" Calypso seemed to be talking to herself here.

"I knew he wasn't supposed to be locked up. And my friend knew that too, but she tried to free him in a more...violent way. So the night before our fight was due I snuck in and unlocked his bars. He tried to attack me, but soon got the picture I was helping him. He shifted in front of me, and I was shocked. I remember seeing his eyes, the same eyes that were on the Light Fury. He told me about his world, and I wanted to join him. But back then I didn't know I could shift. So, he came to me every night instead. We fell in love. But, someone soon found out. They cornered us, and I told him to fly away. He was reluctant, but knew he had to shift. He got away, but the Berkians accused me of witchcraft. They tried to burn me at the stake the next day, but he arrived in time to throw me a Scale Lily. I don't know why he did it, but it worked and I shifted for the first time, narrowly escaping the flames. We flew away together. He wanted to leave his tribe here, so we went to the Hidden World. But it was a prison there. Everyone had to give food to the king, and dragons like the Deathsongs or Deathgrippers were always trying to eat you. And eventually, he wasn't fast enough to get away from the Deathsong. I killed the Deathsong, but it was too late for him." A few moments of silence came, but she continued. "So, I moved back here. This tribe is way nicer than how he described it, so it might have changed since then and now. So, that's everything." The cave was silent, and Hiccup put a hand on her shoulder. "That...Was horrible. I didn't know those sort of dragons were allowed."

Calypso took a breath, and wiped away something on her face. "Well, I can't change the past. It smells like we're here." She said, her voice trembling a little. Hiccup blinked a few times, and could see that the mouth of the cave was a few steps upward. They walked together, silently. Suddenly, the roof of the cave seemed to stop, leaving a wide area of open rock, overlooking the grey, stormy sky. Hiccup sprinted towards the edge, and saw humongous waves charging at the edge of the cliff. His eyes, though not as keen as when he was in dragon form, could see the circular shapes of thunderdrums beneath the waves.

Calypso spread her arms as sideways as they went, and Hiccup heard multiple cricks coming from her shoulders and back. "Ready to fly?" She asked, walking towards Hiccup. She put a hand on his back as Hiccup did the same stretch as her. He tried to sound excited, but the walk had made him tired and after her story it was hard to not be thinking about Toothless. "I guess. It is kind of a big drop though. Should I stay up here and shift naturally, or do you have more of those Scale Lil-" Hiccup was cut off abruptly.

Hiccup was cut off as he felt the strong push from Calypso, which sent him toppling over the cliffs edge.


	6. 6

(A/N: Thank you to everyone who has written a review, it makes me really happy and I really appreciate it. :D )

Hiccup 3rd person P.O.V

Falling off that cliff wasn't one of Hiccup's proudest moments.

Especially since he was flailing his arms and screaming.

As he felt the wind whip through his hair and violently assault his ears, Hiccup was a mix of emotions. He knew that Calypso would probably help him if he were in serious trouble. And he also knew that she was a two faced cod.

As Hiccup watched the waves and the thunderdrums circle beneath him he closed his eyes. Probably a bad move, but whatever.

Hiccup could feel the air on his body even better now as he desperately searched for something inside of him, a spark or a twinge or just something that gave him an idea that he was special. He felt anger and sadness building up. What if he wasn't special? What if it was just a fluke? All Hiccup wanted was his family and his dragon. All he wanted was to be the chief and live the most normal life he could get.

Hiccup opened his eyes and spread his arms out, trying to fall slower. This cliff was high, but Hiccup had already fallen about 3/4 of the way down.

And then suddenly, he was flying. Hiccup was happy for about half a second before he realised that smooth, silver and grey scales underneath him were slowly lifting him up. As Silhouette flapped her wings, she turned her head to look at him, golden eyes shining. She flew higher and higher, leaving Hiccup disappointed and ashamed.

And then finally, they were at cloud level. It was amazing. The sky below was grey and stormy, but above the clouds was the clear blue sky. But slowly, the Fury circled down, back underneath the escapism of the clear sky.

Hiccup sighed. Why couldn't he do it? Why couldn't he fly? He slumped down on the back of the dragon, his face pressed against her neck. Hiccup wasn't holding on, which was certainly easier for Silhouette when she decided to roll over, tipping the former chief off.

'Oohohohoho NO. I am NOT doing this again.' Hiccup thought angrily as he brushed his hair out of his face. He felt a ferocious spike of electricity run down his spine and travel through his limbs. Wherever it touched, something better emerged. Within seconds, his skinny legs and arms became thick, black, powerful dragon limbs. His head flattened and widened until Hiccup could see the scauldrons blending in under the water; waiting to attack the Thuderdrums, and could even hear their calls underwater. Two massive wings shot out from his back.

Of course, the fact that Hiccup, or rather Obsidian was now a Night Fury didn't change that he had no idea how to fly. He desperately tried to turn right ways up, but was left upside down. Obsidian noticed Silhouette staying in the air, her wings pumping as she watched him curiously with those beautiful golden eyes.

Finally, he managed to get back in a better position, thanks to the cliff beside him. Obsidian's wings spread out and moved in erratically. He felt the cold stone scraping on the tip of his wing and tried to move outwards, but failed. The dragon growled as he watched the water getting closer and closer, until finally it enveloped him with a mighty splash.

The silence of water was odd, and it made Obsidian a little disorientated. Until he heard the sounds of the tidal class dragons, swimming towards him. The Night Fury blinked his green eyes at the purple thunderdrum watching him, teeth bared.

Obsidian knew he needed to stay calm. He knew he needed to breathe. But he couldn't underwater; and if he moved this dragon would probably kill him violently. A ticking clock at the back of his head reminded him of how much breath he had left, which was an increasingly lower amount.

Obsidian saw the thunderdrum hiss and open its mouth, no doubt preparing for a kill. The Night Fury opened his wings, and hopelessly tried to swim away. But it seemed as if it were too late for Obsidian, and he knew it too. He said a final prayer to the gods, and said goodbye to the people who he'd loved.

But then a miracle happened. The flowing water currents moved from going horizontally to vertically, pushing Obsidian to the surface in a matter of seconds. But the thunderdrum wasn't letting him go, and had weakly grabbed him by the tail. Without even thinking, Obsidian shot a purple blur at the dragon, stunning it enough to make him let go. As soon as his head surfaced he saw Silhouette, standing at the top of the cliff. He lifted his wings up to the surface of the water, and desperately growled at her.

It was hard to see, but Silhouette flashed a smile. Obsidian wondered what it meant, but dismissed the thought as he felt air bubbles snaking underneath his wings and pushing him up. Within half a minute, the Night Fury was hovering in the air, wings completely still. He looked up at the dragon on the cliff, who gave him an odd gesture that seemed to mean he should flap his wings. Obsidian happily obliged, slightly confused. He started out slowly, but eventually his great, black wings moved in smooth motions, slowly bringing him upwards. He didn't notice that the air keeping him floating had disappeared.

As Obsidian slowly approached the cliff, he noticed Silhouette standing impatiently in her human form. With a final heave of his wings, he collapsed on the cold rock. He felt the same tingling sensation, but didn't really care he was back to human.

"...Hi" Calypso said, offering him a hand. Gratefully, Hiccup took it and stood up. Hiccup was tired, but the adrenaline was overpowering. "Did you see that?! That was awesome!" He shouted excitedly, grinning while he threw his arms in the air. Calypso put a hand to her face, as if tired. She smiled weakly. "Yeah, pretty cool. You still have to practice though." Hiccup waved off her comment. "Yeah, yeah. Did you see the air, near the sea? What in Odin's beard was that?" He said, excited by a new discovery.

"Me." Calypso said, sitting down. "What?" Hiccup asked, looking at her. She looked at him. "Rarely, shifters with royal heritage from Berk and a few other islands will gain...powers, of sorts. Mine is manipulating the elements, fire, earth, wind and water. Remember the sinkhole?" Hiccup stopped, frowning. He sat down next to her quickly. "Does that mean I could have some?" Calypso considered this for a few seconds. "Maybe. You'll have to find out." She said grinning. "You have to shift easily to control it though."

Calypso stood up, and strode to the middle of the rock. Within seconds, she had shifted. She growled, and turned her head towards the edge of the rock in an unmistakeable gesture. "I am not getting thrown off a cliff again." Hiccup said as he stood. He felt his ankle buckle, but quickly righted himself. Hiccup walked near the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath.

Hiccup closed his eyes. "If you can do this, you can keep the peace. You can go home." He muttered under his breath. Closing his eyes, Hiccup tried to call back the electricity from before. And slowly, it came back. When Hiccup il his eyes, he was Obsidian. Excited, he bounded over to Silhouette and spread his mouth out in a toothless smile. Silhouette, however, just shook her wings and promptly dove straight off the windy cliff.

Obsidian ran to the edge as he watched her fall down in a graceful position, and turn a second before hitting the water, letting her glide smoothly and swiftly against the waves and leaving an indent in the waves. But Silhouette quickly flew upwards and within a few seconds she was a few metres away in the air from Obsidian. She smiled in that charming, fury way as she encouraged The Night Fury to try the same move as her.

As soon as Obsidian felt the air fly past his face, his instincts kicked in and he pulled off the swooping turn flawlessly. It was almost exactly like flying with Toothless, but with a few changes and that it was so, so much better in every way. He saw Silhouette glide down to fly alongside him, and for a while everything was nice and quiet.

Exactly how Hiccup wanted it to be.


	7. 7

Hiccup 3rd person P.O.V

It felt like it had been minutes of Obsidian flying, but a quick glance upwards told him otherwise. Out of the corner of his eye, Obsidian saw Silhouette elegantly land on the cliff beside him and shift back.

"That was amazing, Calypso. Thank you for doing this, you could have let me die." I'd rather die than not be able to see my family, whispered a thought. Obsidian pushed it to the back of his head. Slowly, The dragon summoned the racing lightning feeling. It was faster than the few other times, and suddenly he was sitting down as Hiccup.

"You're getting pretty good at that." Calypso smiled, looking up at the clouds. "...Thanks." Hiccup replied, wondering if she was being genuine. "Are you ready to try camouflage mode?" Calypso asked, still looking at the grey sky. Hiccup nodded, remembering the Light Fury. "All I have to do is a fireball, right?" He asked, getting up.

Calypso snorted. "Nope. I'm pretty sure you have to utilise the storm, for a Night Fury. The tribe's book is a little outdated." She stood up, and stretched out her arms. "Are you tired yet?" She asked absentmindedly.

Hiccup was still thinking about 'utilising the storm' or whatever so the question caught him off guard. "Absolutely not. Do you know how it feels to fly on a dragon? It's great, but it's got NOTHING on being able to do this." He answered truthfully, gesturing vaguely with his hands. The only way it could be improved was with Toothless, but Hiccup pushed that thought back.

"Alright. This is a pretty easy part. Camouflaging takes energy, and for some newbies the invisibility only lasts a few seconds. Mine lasts as long as I want it to. But I have a feeling you can hold it. All you have to do when you're up in the clouds is speak to them." Calypso said, right before she quickly shifted. "What's that supposed to mean?" Hiccup asked, shifting. In the midst of the conversation, he still felt a little bit of boy-ish excitement at the feeling of racing lightning.

"Guess you'll just have to find out." Silhouette smirked before diving below towards the water. Obsidian watched her gracefully dip the tip of her stunning leaf-shaped wing into the cold seawater, then turn around mid air and do the same with the other wing. With a blink and you'll miss it move, Silhouette dipped her body underwater, her grey and white scales sparkling. Obsidian saw the glint of her golden eyes disappear as it seemed as if she were disintegrating.

With a steely, determined expression, Obsidian spread his wings. He leapt, not so gracefully, off the cliff and furiously flapped towards the thunderstorm ahead. The blinding flashes of lightning were much more frequent now, accompanied by booming claps of thunder. Obsidian closed his eyes, trusting his senses to guide him.

Feeling a little stupid, he concentrated his ears to try and hear if the storm was reaching out to him. However, it was the voices inside his head that stood out. Hundreds of repeating voices slammed into his mind at once, causing the night fury to growl.

'fire angry burn thunder' Were some of the snake-like words he could make out. But Obsidian kept his head, trying to stay calm. "Together, we can create these. You can be empowered." He spoke as if a voice was possessing him. Obsidian was so panicked, he was calm. 'fury...burn? Death?' They we're speaking in unison now, excited by the possible concepts. "No. Not death. You can do something powerful. You can help make a difference in my life. I bet you haven't seen a fury in a while?" Obsidian spoke slyly, trying to trick the lightning voices. 'fury...difference?' They spoke as if the word was unfamiliar, but welcome. "Yes. Together." The voices fell silent, and the night fury wondered if he had offended them.

Suddenly, it felt as if he were on fire. Obsidian felt as if he was watching two perspectives, one of himself roaring in agony, and the other surrounded by pale blue lightning, his body growing green, as if he were an alpha. The Night Fury let out a roar, and the sensation disappeared. He slowly descended from inside the cloud blanket, and desperately headed back to the cliff. He could see an odd golden shape sitting there.

Collapsing on the cool rock of the cliff, he noticed the golden shape was the outline of the now invisible Silhouette. Obsidian looked down to see a familiar forest green outline surrounding himself. Despite being exhausted, he was happy. Silhouette barked a friendly growl at him, which he interpreted as "Are you ready to go?". Obsidian growled back a tired yes.

The Night fury watched his companion take to the air, and in a couple of seconds he followed. The sea air was lovely in his face, and they moved a a quick pace against the mountain. Obsidian noticed it was much quicker flying in between the mountains than walking through the tunnel.

Within a few minutes of blissful silence as they flew together and admired the view of the dappled red, orange and yellow treetops, Obsidian noticed New Berk, straight ahead. He glanced at Silhouette, who had an expression of steel on her face. Am I ready to do this?...Yes. I am. I can finally see Astrid. But I can't see her like this. I can't bear to see her grieving, with no doubt in her mind that I've been killed by a bear or something. And I can't shift back and suddenly explain to her why I look ten years younger and suddenly have another leg. Maybe if we watch this speech, and figure out information, Calypso can give me a plant or something.

Obsidian followed Silhouette's golden outline as she glided down to an empty spot, under a pleasant looking oak tree. The centre of town had been set up with a circular stage, with an incredible amount of light and lanterns to give anyone a headache at dusk. As Obsidian looked up, he fondly remembered the pink and orange sunsets that would often fall over New Berk. Hundreds of townsfolk had gathered around the stage, standing.

It seemed as if they had just got there in time, as Obsidian recognised a familiar amplified voice. "SNOTLOUT, NEW BERK'S MOST FEROCIOUS WARRIOR, IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE NEW CHEIF OF BERK!" Snoutlout's unpleasant voice rang out over the crowds. Obsidian heard moans, and even saw Silhouette grimacing and clawing at her ears.

As the curtains pulled back, Obsidian wondered who had replaced him within the span of a few days. Maybe Fishlegs, or possibly one of his children. The stage was empty, until an especially bright lantern was shone onto the two figures standing on the stage.

At that moment, Obsidian felt his heart filling with disappointment, anger, and straight up despair.

Because the figure standing on the stage was his wife, Astrid. And Obsidian couldn't tear his eyes away as she planted a kiss firmly on Snoutlout's cheek.


	8. 8

A/N: Oof, sorry for not posting guys. Christmas has been kind of hectic. I'll get the next chapter out sooner. Happy Holidays!!

Time seemed to slow down as Obsidian watched the two humans kiss.

But then, it sped up.

Obsidian wasn't a violent person/dragon. He hated conflict. But seeing the girl he'd loved and taken care of throw him away? That made him see red.

The Night Fury let out a bellowing roar, quickly losing all focus. His camouflage dropped away. His teeth shot out. Obsidian could feel his eyes turning to slits.

Looking back on the event, he would probably get a kick out of Astrid and Snotlout's faces. But even if he wanted to see them right now, he couldn't bear to look at them.

Immediately, screams rose from the villagers of New Berk as they scattered. Obsidian bounded towards the stage and within seconds, had them pinned down under his claws. He heard Silhouette hiss encouragingly.

Obsidian could see all the details of their traitorous, deceitful, imperfect faces. Obsidian roared again, and was briefly reminded of the roar that Toothless greeted him with the first time they met.

But Obsidian didn't have time to think of that.

He wanted to crush them. He wanted to light them on fire. He wanted to fly them into the sun and leave them there.

But...he couldn't. This girl was the one he fell in love with. This boy was the one he'd bonded with. The red faded from his vision, and his grip loosened.

But the next event happened so fast even Obsidian's eyes couldn't track it. Astrid's hand darted to her waist, and within seconds she had plunged a dagger into the Night Fury's leg.

The pain wasn't that bad, but it hurt enough for Obsidian to let go of the lightning. He felt himself shift, and was suddenly standing in front of his friends, a bloody dagger hanging from his wrist.

The terror in Hiccup's eyes matched the horror of the two shocked individuals. In the back of his mind, Hiccup noticed all of the villagers had scrambled.

"Hiccup? Is that really you?" Astrid asked, standing up. Her hand reached out gently...and then took his non bleeding wrist. It seemed as if everything was going to be okay.

Until Astrid forcefully pulled him towards her, her grip unbreakable. She kicked his knees, making him buckle and fall. She didn't seem surprised at his new leg. "Pull out the dagger in his arm, Snotlout." She muttered, venom in her voice. "But-" Snotlout began, but was silenced by a look from Astrid.

Hiccup didn't understand what was going on, for a few seconds. Then it hit him. She's going to murder me. It was taking Snotlout a long time to approach him, and Hiccup's mind was whirring with any scraps of an escape plan. As Snotlout pulled out the dagger, Hiccup winced.

He felt Astrid grab his hair, jerking his head upwards. This gave Hiccup a good view of the night sky, his last sight before execution. But his eyes caught a flicker of the unnatural movement of the tree leaves, as if they were pressed against an invisible border. But that wasn't a border.

Hiccup's eyes desperately reached out to a place where he thought Silhouette might be. He was a little angry at her for not acting sooner, but would forgive her if she managed to pull this off.

Within seconds of him maintaining eye contact, Hiccup saw a green blur of plasma hit the top of the stage, causing it to crumble down. The wooden planks caught fire easily. Astrid immediately let go of Hiccup to dodge a piece of debris.

Hiccup bolted down towards the tree, his wrist throbbing. He nimbly turned, avoiding where he thought Silhouette might be and farted behind an empty house. Hiccup didn't have time to think about his feelings, he just knew he had to get out of here.

The lightning feeling came quicker than ever before, and suddenly he was back as Obsidian. The golden outline of Silhouette flashed in the sky, only visible to him as a Night Fury, and Obsidian used a long patch of grass for a runway. He felt his wings automatically start pumping, and before long he was next to her. Obsidian didn't feel the need to use camouflage, he was already hard to see in the sky.

Surprisingly, Silhouette didn't acknowledge him. She made a 'follow me' gesture with her wing as she soared towards the horizon. The Fury turned unexpectedly when they neared the hulking mountains, and they flew in silence.

As the sun began to peek out from under the sky, Silhouette smoothly flew down, landing in a rocky clearing. She shifted back effortlessly, and watched as Obsidian did the same, landing on a rock close to her.

Hiccup didn't realise he was crying until he shifted back. He noticed Calypso coming to sit with him, and felt her hand on his back. He was embarrassed, but Calypso didn't say anything.

They sat like that for about ten minutes, before Calypso abruptly stood up. She muttered something about forgetting under her breath, then turned to Hiccup.

"I need to go out and hunt. We won't be very well received in the tribe if I don't bring back something." Calypso took a step closer to Hiccup, and kneeled down. The rocky terrain must have hurt her through those thin blue pants but she didn't care. Calypso put a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want anything?" Hiccup shook his head. "Do you want to come with me?" The same reply. Calypso smiled. "Alright. If you need anything, just asked. I know you like Salmon." She said, shaking out her arms. Hiccup watched as she shifted into the beautiful silver dragon, and effortlessly took off without a runway. Hiccup watched as she ducked and looped, happy to be in the air alone. His mind flashed to how graceful she was, but the thought was drowned out by the tidal wave of Astrid thoughts.

Hiccup sat on the hot rock, alone, thinking of Astrid for two hours.


	9. 9

Having a bleeding wrist for two hours would probably make any other person die.

But not Hiccup. No, he just had to suffer, didn't he? He just had to lose everything he cared about, right? He had to be a stupid dragon. Hiccup didn't acknowledge the silver creature who had just landed in front of him.

"Sorry I took so long, I had to make- You're still crying?" Calypso said, shifting back. The former dragoness stood uncomfortably. She didn't carry a net, or something you would probably use to hold fish. No, Calypso had straight up made a sphere of water, and stuffed it with fish. Hiccup noticed some were Salmon. It floated lazily above her outstretched hand. "And you haven't shifted back? You are definitely not going to have friends here." She said, rolling her eyes.

Hiccup was angry. Not at her, but he wanted to take his anger out on something. He closed his eyes, trying to control his tone. "You want me to shift? Into something that isn't me?" Calypso rolled her eyes again, and leaned against a large rock. "No duh. And don't be stupid, it is you." She said, her voice infuriating.

Hiccup grimaced. Now he was mad at her.

The former chief opened his eyes, looking straight at the traitor that had turned him into a monster, the betrayer that had ripped him from his former life. Calypso noticed his angry expression. She tried to play it off, but Hiccup could see her hand becoming white with heat, just in case. "Hiccup, listen to me. If you don't shift, that wound isn't getting any better."

It felt as if Hiccup exploded. He glared at Calypso silently, feeling only raw hatred. Distantly, the sphere of water fell, leaving the fish on the ground. Calypso glanced at it, and frowned. Her white-hot hand returned to its normal colour. Calypso's golden eyes were full of fear. She backed away from Hiccup slowly.

And then the anger was gone. Hiccup only felt guilt, and sadness, and confused. Immediately, the water reformed around the fish, saving them from death, and Calypso's hand grew burning hot again. She looked at it, shook it off and extinguished the heat of her own will. Confused, Calypso looked at Hiccup in awe and terror.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Hiccup said, suddenly scared he'd lost his only... ally. The girl took a deep breath. "I was trying to shift. I was trying to keep the water intact, and my hand hot. But I couldn't, it felt like I couldn't. It felt like if I tried, I might pass out, or get crushed under the...silence." She spoke quietly and quickly, looking away from Hiccup's eyes. "I think I know what power you have."

Hiccup didn't know what he felt. One one hand, cool, he could mess with other people's powers, silence them. On the other hand, Hiccup was thinking all about how he could help plan an attack against whatever this stupid tribe was. Hiccup shook off the dark thoughts. He didn't even know anyone yet, and they were still in this rocky clearing.

"Whatever, there's training stations at camp. We need to get you healed, and to meet everyone." Calypso said, trying to smile. "Just shift into Obsidian." She said, her face returning to neutral.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, but called down the lightning. It seemed as natural as breathing now, but that didn't mean Hiccup liked it. In seconds, he was Obsidian. Immediately, an odd sensation kicked in. Obsidian looked down, and almost jumped. His cut looked as if the scales around it were multiplying, and soon it was covered in a pile of black scales. It stayed like that for about a minute before they fell off onto the ground, leaving smooth, normal scales underneath.

Hiccup shifted back, anxious to see what the cut looked like. Fortunately, it looked the same as before the stab wound, but a lot more smooth. Hiccup gaped at it, prodding the former wound gently. Calypso rolled her eyes then yelled. "Don't touch it!" She yelled, slapping his hand away. "The skin will break, you numbskull."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her, holding his wrist. "Of course we're- you're stupidly overpowered. Why wouldn't you be?" Hiccup laughed maniacally, running his hand through his hair. "It's not like you've got thousands of ways to kill your enemies at your disposal." Hiccup hissed, his eyes darting to the fish sphere.

"I hope you know that once you're inside the border, I'm leaving you and your saltiness alone. I have better things to do." Calypso said, deadpan. "If you have any troubles, take it up with the chief." She said, shifting. "There's a CHEIF?" Hiccup said angrily. He didn't expect to be this annoyed by not being the person in charge.

Silhouette started to fly away, so Hiccup reluctantly followed her lead as Obsidian. Surprisingly, it was a short flight. A few minutes after they started to fly, the duo dropped into a cramped patch of land, full of trees. Calypso effectively shifted back, and strolled over to a thick oak tree. She gave Hiccup an expectant look, and he walked over.

"So, where exactly is the-" Hiccup was cut off by his own yelp as the dirt turned to watery dirt underneath him. It make a satisfying 'schlop' sound as Hiccup was sucked under. It seemed as if the liquid earth was pushing Hiccup in a direction, and seconds later he emerged, covered in mud. But that was the least of his worries.

The camp was huge. It almost looked as big as New Berk but perhaps a little smaller. The hideout was divided into four sections. The first was the one farthest right to Hiccup. A large mound of grass, dirt and stone resembling a cliff towered over the space. Hiccup could just make out a house near the bottom. Next to the cliff was an intricately carved, sheltered space. This quarter of the camp was under this roof of oak wood. With a start, Hiccup realises Calypso or someone like her must have grown the wood over the grass for some kind of sheltered sleeping space. Colourful tents lay around and under the wood. Next to that quarter was the quarter close to Hiccup's left. Hundreds of 'training devices' lay scattered around the arena-like hole in the ground. Hiccup looked at it closely, wondering if he would have to fight in it. The last section of the large camp was a massive lake. Hiccup noticed how abruptly it dropped from shallow to deep.

As Hiccup took in his surroundings, he noticed the leaf canopy, far above them. It made everything look a little more green, and had small speckles of light dripping through. It was the perfect disguise if you happened to be flying overhead. Hiccup's eyes darted to a small amount of movement in the lake. He stared at the ripple closely, until Hiccup saw the green Scauldron spikes emerging. Immediately, Hiccup began to notice life around him. A small boy was wrestling with a teenage Changewing in the arena section. The aforementioned Scauldron in the lake seemed to be looking at Hiccup from under the water.

But the most prominent sign of life came from the massive, scarred, gnarled hand on his shoulder, a hand belonging to an unknown Goliath of a man.


	10. 10

Hiccup had experienced many things and met many people in his life, but a man with a hand the size of his face wasn't one.

Hiccup calmly turned around, took one look at the man and turned back around. The giant reminded Hiccup of Drago, not in appearance, but expression. The same sadistic brown eyes were set upon Hiccup hungrily. He wore a blood-red cloak and a warrior's outfit. His slightly stubbled face was more cube-like than Drago's and his hair was short, spiky and what looked like naturally blond. But what really set him apart from anyone Hiccup had ever seen was the difference between his height and weight. He stood at least 8 feet tall, with a strong, very wide body.

This is fine. Everything's fine. Hiccup thought, panicking. He could feel the pressure of this man's hand increasing on his shoulder, and was a little worried that he was going to crush it.

But Hiccup was saved by a questionable sound.

Calypso popped up from the mud, with no reside. Hiccup felt a stab of annoyance at how clean she was, but pushed it to the back of his mind. He dared not speak, trying not to offend this goliath.

But Calypso just laughed at the image. "Stop messing with him, Drake." She snorted loudly. His name is DRAKE? Hiccup thought, trying not to think about the similarities.

The man released his hand with a hearty guffaw and slapped his hand on Hiccup's back. Hiccup narrowed his eyes, subtly wiping his shoulder off. He stood awkwardly as nobody spoke.

"Why don't you show Hiccup around the camp, Drake?" Calypso seemed more at ease here. Drake waved her off with a swipe of his massive hand. "I've got to check the barrier, I'll get you if anything exciting happens. Tell Shade to show him around." Drake rolled his eyes, then looked expectantly at Calypso.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Calypso said with a wave of her hand. She turned around, and Hiccup saw Drake disappear in the mud. Hiccup half staggered up to her and let out a breath. "Is he-" He began but was shushed. "Drake's antisocial. He's nice, though. To us. I hope he finds a few meatheads to scare so we can go watch." Calypso spoke fast, trying to hide her confusion from the day's earlier events.

"Oh, no. I was going to ask why he was so HUGE?" Hiccup said in a (mostly) calm voice. Calypso laughed, but didn't answer. Hiccup tried to make small talk, but failed. So, they just walked in comfortable silence for a few seconds before they arrived at the lake. "Why-" Hiccup began, but Calypso stopped him by stomping on the ground loudly. Almost immediately, a large amount of dirt sprayed everywhere as something emerged from the ground.

Hiccup immediately recognised it as a smaller than usual Whispering Death and instinctively stepped back into a defensive position. Embarrassed, he stepped forward, going back to Calypso as the dragon switched to a teenager midair. "Yo, Squid!" Calypso smiled, grabbing his hand in a friendly gesture as he landed. Hiccup noticed her absentmindedly rearranging the dirt until it looked like before. He frowned.

"I said, don't call me that. My name is Shade now." He said, disgruntled. The boy looked young, in his early teens. His curly brown hair seemed to fade into blue, then red at the tips. He wore pretty standard clothes, Hiccup remembered seeing a few young kids wearing that style of shirt and pants. But the most shocking thing was his eyes. Completely white and bloodshot, eerily similar to the Whispering Death Hiccup had seen a few seconds ago.

"Who's this punk with you?" The teen spoke, startling Hiccup. He wasn't sure if this kid was blind or not, but Shade still hadn't paid Hiccup any attention. "Watch it, Squid," Squid grumbled. "He's a Night Fury." Calypso said offhandedly. Hiccup expected the boy to have some kind of reaction, but he just angled his head in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup glanced at Calypso and widened his eyes, trying to ask her a question without speaking.

"I can tell if you're looking at each other. I still know you're there!" He said accusingly, and Hiccup decided that he didn't like this kid. "Squid, show Hiccup around the camp. Don't be mean." Calypso smiled and stepped out of reach as he swiped at her. She got far enough to shift, give Hiccup a teasing growl and flew over to the deeper part of the lake.

Squid sighed, looking in Hiccup's general direction. "Are you from New Berk?" He uptalked. Hiccup nodded, then realised that was stupid and he spoke. "Yeah, I was the chief there." Squid crossed his arms. "So why aren't you now?" Hiccup scowled. "Are you going to show me around or not?" Hiccup felt uncomfortable, but this kid was slowly getting on his nerves.

"Oh, I'm sorry, m'lord. Shall I fetch you a cup of mead while I carry you upon my back?" Squid smirked and started walking towards the lake. "This is, surprisingly, a lake. I know this because I've fallen in it." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It's way deeper than you think. I tunnelled into it once, it blocked them for a few months." Squid seemed to be talking about something he didn't completely despise, so Hiccup let him keep doing it. "When Calypso's not around, they're the only ways to get in or out. It's great being the only blind, teenage, Whispering Death."

Hiccup absorbed that information, and waited for him to continue. "You going to talk or something?" Squid asked, immediately killing Hiccup's vibe. "Yeah, ok. Where to next?" It was hard to tell, but it seemed like Squid was rolling his eyes. But, he started walking over to the arena-like section. Hiccup heard his counting something under his breath.

"So, how do you get around?" Hiccup asked while walking alongside him. Squid didn't answer, so Hiccup didn't push it. It was only when they arrived exactly two footsteps away from the hole that he spoke. "I count the steps, or use the tunnels underground. I'm blind, but can still kind of see light." This seemed like a sore subject, but Hiccup was curious. "Were you always blind?" Hiccup asked as he peered into the hole. The Changewing and the teenage fighter he'd seen before were still going. Surprisingly, it looked like they were equally matched. "No. It's not even from some stupid medical stuff or whatever." Squid scowled and kicked a mace into the arena. Hiccup hadn't made the connection yet, so he asked another question, not recognising the temper rising in Squid's voice. "What's it from then?"

"You really want to know that badly? C'mon man, it's not that hard to figure out!" Squid spat, venom in his voice. "Whispering Deaths are blind. They're naturally blind. So what happens when Whispering Death DNA or whatever crap restarts my blood? I go blind!" Squid yelled, causing Hiccup to step back. "I'm done with this stupid tour. Go find someone else." Squid said, then promptly shifted back, and disappeared into the ground.

Hiccup blinked, then the wave of guilt hit him. A thought crossed his mind about how maybe he could use silencing powers to momentarily heal the teen but it was interrupted by Calypso landing in front of him. She shifted back with an excited but cautious look. "Hiccup! Drake told me something's attacking us. It's a fleet of ships, from… Berk." Hiccup was shocked. This quickly? "We have to go and fight them. A few other shifters are coming too, but don't worry, we try not to hurt the people on the ships. I understand if you don't want to come, but follow me if you do. They must have put a tracker on us or something, but I think it picked up the scent from when I helped you fly. They've circled around or something." Without another word, Calypso shifted and sped of


	11. 11

Hey guys, it's me. I'm really sorry I haven't been able to get this out earlier, quarantine is not going well for me. I hope I can get another chapter out by this week, but no promises. Stay safe, and thank you everyone :)

Astrid breathed.

The sea air was refreshing, and the yelling coming from behind her was always welcome. The chiefess turned to see Snoutlout approaching, tripping over his feet on the unsteady wooden floor of the boat.

"Any sign of Fishlegs?" Astrid asked immediately, swatting away some mist. The rain from a few days ago still left lingering signs. Snoutlout shook his head, and wiped his nose as he finally could stand up straight.

"Before you demand I go work on something, I've got more bad news" He said with a worried/sarcastic expression. "While you were out planning this great attack, the twins escaped. There was a huge hole in the stone. I found Tuffnut's clothes on the floor." Snoutlout shuddered. "I really don't know why he had to take those off when I couldn't find any of Ruffnut-" He began to ramble, but Astrid cut him off with a look as she turned back to face the ocean.

"Put that down in the log." Astrid said, tossing him a book from the table.

"How exactly would you like me to write it down, O great and mighty Astrid?"

Astrid scowled, but began to monologue.

"No sign of Fishlegs, disease suspected. Has been missing for two weeks. Possible contact with Hiccup? No sign of Ruffnut nor Tuffnut. Clothes found in the prison, alongside a hole in the wall. Updated dosage needed."

Snoutlout frowned as he scribbled the words frantically, while Astrid squinted out on the horizon. "Does that…" She stopped, so Snotlout went to stand next to her. It was clear what she was about to ask: Was that someone jumping off the cliff? The fleet had gotten close enough to see through the fog. It looked as if a large shape had plummeted off the top of the flat, grey cliff. In fact, the shape was followed by a swirling red...cape? Anyone else's attention would have been focused on the shape hitting the water, but Astrid's eyes were on the skywards outline of what only could have been a night fury.

It was if the entire ship had come to ask Astrid what was going on. Around twenty vikings erupted from below the deck, surfacing only to ask questions. In the front, was Eret. Nobody seemed to be concerned, more annoyed than anything. As Astrid waved off the less important ones, Eret began to come closer, standing on her right side.

"I'm sure it's nothing. If it was...One of them, it would have died from the impact." Eret didn't look at Astrid as he talked, focusing more on the grey-blue water below. There was a tone of sadness in his voice, but Astrid didn't have time to waste comforting him about whatever. "I'm not disturbed by that whatever it was," She hissed, and subtly gestured upwards. "I'm disturbed by that."

As soon as Eret got the message and looked up, he frowned, and cursed under his breath. "Where's he going? Stupid Oaf." He muttered, as the night fury soared to the flat part of the cliff. Astrid shrugged, only half-listening. The fleet was too close to the bottom of the cliff, so they couldn't see anything at the top. The chiefess scowled. The cliffs were strictly vertical, there was no way up like she'd hoped.

Astrid began to think of plans. The first one that came to her mind was to travel to the hidden world for more firepower, but she couldn't do that to her dragon. She couldn't pull Stormfly from a happy life. The boats creaked as Astrid turned to look at the few following ships. In the back of her mind, she wondered how the kids were doing.

It had been a few minutes before Astrid called the order to return to New Berk. The battle would have to wait for another day, but it was coming. Suddenly, Eret spoke. "Why do you want to hurt them? They haven't done anything wrong, Astrid." He threw his hands in the air, and spoke bitterly. "One of them is your husband, for Odin's sake!"

It happened in a blur. Before Eret could say another word, Astrid had pointed one of her axes to his throat. "Why do you care so much?" She was trying to keep her voice steady, but near the end of the sentence the facade started to crack.

Eret thought for a few seconds, and gulped. He stayed silent, as if he were considering something. Then he spoke, averting his gaze. "I just think they haven't done anything, anything at all, to make you this mad." Astrid pushed the axe closer to his throat. "You're lying." She hissed, venom in her voice and the beginning of a tear in her eye.

"Astrid…" Snotlout began, but the chiefess shut him up with a glance. But abruptly, Eret began to laugh. He casually pushed the blade away from his throat, which was easy due to Astrid's confusion. "Is something funny?" She asked, eyes narrowed.

"You really had no idea? Not a clue?" He asked, his laughter increasing. Astrid stood up a little straighter. "About what? What is it? Tell me or so help me I will execute you." She said shrilly. Eret wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter fading and a frown appearing on his face.

As Astrid scrutinised his face, she couldn't help but notice the large bluish-purple scales that had suddenly formed under Eret's eyes. It took him only a split second to notice what she was looking at, and Eret raised a hand up to brush his fingers over the scales. Eret's grin returned, mere seconds before Astrid realised what was going on.

She fumbled for her axe, but it was too late. The few vikings on rowing duty gawked at Eret, immediately running over to inspect him as he quickly began to shift. Eret, now in the form of a large Stormcutter, seemed to be enjoying the chaos while hovering over the boat. His four wings billowed in a mesmerising pattern. The lustrous blue-purple colour of his scales and underbelly was beautifully complimented by darker stripes along his body and top of his wings, similar to a tiger's. His now slitted brown eyes peered out from an enormous gradient-like purple crest.

Nobody else would have caught in, but Astrid noticed his eyes drop down to the sea directly below the ships. After what would have been a worried look in human form, Eret swiftly began his ascent with an echoing roar.

Astrid cursed as she watched him glide upwards. She threw her axe in the ground, then stomped on the flat blade. "Get out of here! Get out of these stupid cliff waters!" She bellowed. Despite her anger, she wondered what could have caused Eret, a brave warrior, to make such a face. She slumped over the wooden ridge of the ship, and scowled into the water.

She looked at the ocean just in time to see a brown eye the size of her ship open, and focus directly on her.


End file.
